ECU trustees elect leaders, welcome new members

GREENVILLE, NC
(July 24, 2007)
—
Bob Greczyn, president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, has been elected chair of the East Carolina University Board of Trustees.

Also elected at the board’s meeting on the ECU campus Tuesday were David Brody, vice chair, and Margaret Ward, secretary. All three officers will serve one-year terms.

Greczyn, a member of the ECU board for four years and a 1973 graduate, said he intends to work with board members, the chancellor and the campus community to help ECU continue to become a leader in the region, particularly in its medical and arts programs.

“I think we all know we face a lot of challenges,” Greczyn said. “It takes the commitment of strong leadership like we’ve seen these past three years with [ECU Chancellor] Steve Ballard, as well as our great faculty and staff, and a great board, all working together. This is an exciting time at ECU, and a great time to be a Pirate.”

Greczyn also said he hopes to develop a new trustee committee structure that would streamline the board’s work process to shorten and focus board meetings. The ECU trustees usually meet five times a year.

Brody, a Kinston developer and philanthropist, joined the ECU board in 2003 and is the former chair of the board’s Academic Affairs and Student Life Committee. Ward, a Burlington civic leader, is an ECU alumna and has been a board member since 2000 and has chaired the Athletics Committee.

ECU’s newest trustees, Robert G. Brinkley and Carol M. Mabe, were sworn in. They were appointed by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors to replace outgoing members Michael W. Kelly of Nags Head and Stephen D. Showfety of Greensboro.

Brinkley, of Charlotte, is a retired attorney with Helms Mulliss and Wicker and is a 1978 graduate of East Carolina University. He is a member of the ECU Foundation Board and is a former member of the ECU Board of Visitors.

Mabe, of Greensboro, is the former vice president of strategic development for Russell Corporation and a 1971 graduate of East Carolina University. She is a member of the ECU Foundation Board and is a former trustee at Kennesaw State University.

The ECU Board of Trustees will meet next on September 11 and 12, 2007.